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Suggestions for Successful Bible Study




v  READ GOD’S WORD DAILY:

But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night. (Psalm 1:2)

God made your physical body so you must have food daily in order to remain healthy. In a similar manner, your spirit must be fed daily with the food of the Word of God if you are to be spiritually healthy:

. . . It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God. (Luke 4:4)

v  READ SELECTIVELY:

Start by reading the "milk" of the word. These are the simple truths of the Word of God:

As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby. (1 Peter 2:2)

Eventually as you stay with it, you will mature spiritually to where you can eat "meat" of the Word of God. This means you will be able to understand more difficult teachings of the Bible:

For everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5:13-14)

I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it . . .
(I Corinthians 3:2)

v  READ PRAYERFULLY:

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord. (Ezra 7:10)

Before you start to read, pray to God and ask Him to help you understand the message He has given you through His written Word. Let your prayer be as the Psalmist David prayed:

Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.  (Psalm 119:18)

v  READ SYSTEMATICALLY:

Some people do not understand God's Word because they do not have a systematic plan for reading. They read a chapter here and there and fail to understand how it all fits together. This is like reading a few pages here and there in a text book on medicine and then trying to set up a medical practice. The Bible tells us to ". . .search the scriptures" (John 5:39). This means to study them carefully. The Bible is like a text book used in school. You must read it in an orderly way if you are to understand its content.  

God wants to bless His people with an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. He wants to revive us and give us spiritual rest, but we could not enter in because we have not heard His Words. You cannot move on to spiritual meat until we are weaned from the milk of the Word.

HOW TO MOVE FROM MILK TO MEAT

How does a newborn Christian move from the milk to the meat of God's Word?

Ø  Desire the Milk:

First, you must desire the milk of the Word. You must gain an understanding of the basic principles of the Word of God:

As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby. (1 Peter 2:2)

You cannot start with spiritual meat. You must first desire and learn to digest spiritual milk.

Ø  Be Obedient to God's Word:

This is the most important step. Carnal Christians do not obey what they learn in the milk God's Word so they are not able to mature on to meat. The Bible teaches that it is not enough to hear His Word. You must be obedient. You must become a "doer" of the Word and not a "hearer" only:

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.  (James 1:22)

I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.  I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.  I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.  I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.  How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!  Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. (Psalm 119:99-104)

Because David kept God's precepts and was a doer of the Word, his understanding increased. God will not take you on to the deeper revelations if you have not acted upon what you have learned in the milk of the Word.  

Ø  Search for The Meat:

In the natural world, chewing meat requires more physical effort than drinking milk. The same is true in the spiritual world. Discovering the meat of God's Word requires more spiritual effort than living on the milk of the Word.  The bible tells us how to search for the meat:

My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If you seekest her as silver and searchest for her as for hid treasures:  Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:1-5)

These are the steps to discovering and understanding the knowledge of God:

®      Receive God’s words: We must be teachable.

®      Hide God’s commandments: We must accept the Word and integrate it into our life and spirit. Do not try to change the Word to agree with your way of living.

®      Incline thine ear unto wisdom: Really listen to what God is saying through His Word. Listening requires changes in living where indicated.

®      Apply thine heart to understanding: Apply yourself diligently to understanding (interpreting) the Word.

®      Seek God’s word as silver and search for it as for hid treasures.  When you make God's Word a priority and begin to systematically search for His wisdom, you will find it. But it must become a priority of life. You must approach it with as much excitement and dedication as if you were searching for treasure.

If you follow these guidelines and search for the meat of God's Word, these are the results:

®      Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord
®      And find the knowledge of God
®      Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea every
good path
®      It will be pleasant unto thy soul: (You will find satisfaction)
®      Discretion shall preserve thee: Discretion is the ability to make sound judgment and decisions.
®      Understanding shall keep thee
®      You will be delivered from all evil

For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.  He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.  He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.  Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.  When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;  Proverbs 2:6-12






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